Is GW Suspension products worth the $$$?

RAD66 · Jan 13, 2006

Looking to rebuild my suspension and was looking at GLobal West and Control Freak tubular Uppers and lowers. They cost a "g" ! Do you guys think they are worth the big dollars? Is seems like there is a huge difference between kit prices. You can get a street bandit kit for around $500 or a GLobal West kit for $1800. What's up?

302 coupe · Jan 13, 2006

for a street car, no they're not worth the money. For a car used in competition they might be worth the money. You can do alot with stock style parts if you now how to set it up.

rbohm · Jan 13, 2006

i agree, if this is a street car, dont spend the money. in fact unless you are going to get real serious with racing, dont spend the money. properly built stock stuff works just fine.

jerry S · Jan 13, 2006

"worth the money" is relative. I did the whole GW thing, front and rear, complete with the special spherical bearing rear leaf springs, brakes and wheels. I think the kit is the Stage 5 with the L-11 Cat 5 components.

For street use, a Grab-A-Track kit is prolly just fine. But I have plans for my car in excess of street use and it includes track time at the Nuremburg Ring and lots of fun winding through the Alps at high speed. I don't want to go plunging to my death because an inferior part was not up to the job of keeping me on the road so in my case, I think the money I spent is worth it.

Edbert · Jan 13, 2006

If you compare GW to TCP then I'd say they ARE worth the money. If being "worth" the money to you means you get your money back in the form of performance improvements then probably not. I plan on getting the full monte GW coilovers sometime.

Jester67 · Jan 13, 2006

For me YES I am doing it in stages UCA, strut rods first with plans for the LCA in the future. This is how I looked at it good American made UCA are about $160each = $320. I got the GW UCA on sale for $500pair for a difference of $180 with a life time guarantee, the ability to rebuild them easy and to lower the car as low as I wonted with the corrected geometry and they free up the front with the special bearing they use. They are very well made with no caparison between the stamped metal and the tube style GW. They also give me the option to do other things with the car such as race it. My plan has always been to invest in good parts where it makes since with a focus on the future. 100% necessary no worth the money IMHO yes. Of courts YMMV.

3pedal · Jan 13, 2006

I think they are. I have the full GW front suspension. So far I like it quite a bit. I plan on autocrossing it some, and maybe an open track day, if they ever get us a track in Colorado.

302 coupe · Jan 13, 2006

Jester67 said:
For me YES I am doing it in stages UCA, strut rods first with plans for the LCA in the future. This is how I looked at it good American made UCA are about $160each = $320. I got the GW UCA on sale for $500pair for a difference of $180 with a life time guarantee, the ability to rebuild them easy and to lower the car as low as I wonted with the corrected geometry and they free up the front with the special bearing they use. They are very well made with no caparison between the stamped metal and the tube style GW. They also give me the option to do other things with the car such as race it. My plan has always been to invest in good parts where it makes since with a focus on the future. 100% necessary no worth the money IMHO yes. Of courts YMMV.

I'm probably being borderline nit-picky, but most vendors sell UCA's for ~$80/ea with a lifetime warranty, not sure if they're USA or not. I think I got my MOOG ones from NAPA a few years ago for about the same price.

But yeah, if you've got the money to spend and will need the fancy stuff in the future, you might as well go ahead buy it. You just have to decide if you "need" it for bragging rights, or if you actually need it in a useful manner.

mustangdave · Jan 13, 2006

GW upper arms, yes: they eliminate a crappy,squeaky, non-compliant bushing design and give you a template for lowering the arm with corrected geometry angles so the ball joints don't bind like the stad. shelby drop. Lower arms, I don't know because the arm pivots on the bolt doesn't it? Not sure. Strut rods would be good for hard driving to prevent the alignment from changing in corners.
If you're talking about a coilover setup, I can't say.
On a side note, The Control Freak looks to be the same disign but with thicker tubes.
None of this is necessary for a street car but I hated the upper arm design so I am replacing it with GW. I expect a tremedous improvement in handling. I'm also ordering roller spring perches after installing the stock ones and seeing that it takes a crowbar to pivot them. I'm going to remove them and order Opentrackers perches. WTF was Ford thinking?

4MuscleMachines · Jan 13, 2006

My opinion is that GW and TCP are definitely worth it. I noticed a huge improvement in ride quality after removing the less expensive OEM type stuff. I mostly street drive but I feel much more confident being able to drive at the speed limit (70mph) knowing my suspension is capable.

The improvement came because I have large rims and tires with much more grip,weight, and quick turn in due to the lower aspect ratio. Therefore, there is more stress placed on the system and GW or TCP is less likely to flex or fail than stock parts.

You will also get rid of those irritating squeeks and binds.

Jester67 · Jan 13, 2006

302 coupe said:
I'm probably being borderline nit-picky, but most vendors sell UCA's for ~$80/ea with a lifetime warranty, not sure if they're USA or not. I think I got my MOOG ones from NAPA a few years ago for about the same price.

But yeah, if you've got the money to spend and will need the fancy stuff in the future, you might as well go ahead buy it. You just have to decide if you "need" it for bragging rights, or if you actually need it in a useful manner.

yep I iz an american When I was looking didnot know NAPA had them but I have a rule about Import in that location and all the ones that I could find that where USA where $$$ I agree that Moog makes good parts and that is what I am using for the LCA with a prothane poly kit.

Jester67 · Jan 13, 2006

mustangdave said:
On a side note, The Control Freak looks to be the same disign but with thicker tubes.

It is my understanding that the CF stuff is a direct replacement for the stock UCA while it looks like the GW arm it does not have the same specs. the GW arm is shorter than stock "negative-roll geo" and has the PMS wedge kit kind of geo to it while the CF does not. As far as thicket tubes I would not wont to see the type of force required to bend the GW arm that thing is built like a tank.I have to believe that there would be TWO large holes where the bolts use-to be in the shock tower instead.

mustangdave · Jan 13, 2006

NPD lists the CF arms as "negative roll" but I dont' know if that is from drilling new holes or just a geo. change. You are right though, the shock tower would shred before the arms. The ONLY thing I don't like about the GW arm relocation is that it places the holes below the factory reinforcement on the inside of the shock towers; they are only supported by the sheet metal of the tower. I'm thinking about a way to reinforce this area.

Is GW Suspension products worth the $$$?

RAD66

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302 coupe

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